Tire for vehicle-wheels.



HEINRICH. TIRE FORVEHIOLE WHEELS. APPLIGATION FILED DEG.10, 1910 9%966, Patented Ju1y2 5, 191 1.

WITNESSES:

A TTORNEY.

To all w hom it concern:

I scription I v I This invention relates to t res forauto- STATES PA srnns or mrrnnnmexmxfinmnt.

- ms For. VEHICLE- .Speciiication'o'f Letters rat'e it. P tnt dJifl y 191 1,

Applicat'io n 'fileenec'em er 10,4919. serial no. 596,808.

Be it known that I, STENS HEINRICH, a

German subject, and resident of I Diifen dingen, in Luxemburg, Germany, .have m-.

ventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Tires for Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is 'a full, clear, and exact demobiles, trucks and the like, and it has for 'one'of its objects the provision of a tire consisting of a number of independent sections which may be assembled within-the rim of a -wheel, and locked in position therein, while at the sametime such sections may be removed from the rim of the wheel, when.

desired.

The invention has, furthermore, for'its object the provision of a tire in which a" great amount of resiliency may be mainstained while the outer tread of the tire may be formed of very hard substance, such as steel, this material being employed in what may be termed shoes which are applied tothe tire-sections, above mentioned, vidually. v Further objects of the inventlon will hereindiinafter appear and the means of their attairiment be particularly pointed out. in the claim. i

. The invention has been clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which similar characters denote similarparts, andin which having an present instance it Figure 1 represents a side I tion of the wheel rim with severalofthe tire-sections in place thereon. Fig. 2 1s a cross section on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1. 3 is an end view of the movable member' which constitutes one part of' each tire-section. Fig. 4 is a side view thereof. Fig. 5 represents an end view bfone of the stationary members which constitutes another portion thereto, constituting a means whereby the spoke'sof the'wheel maybe held in position viewof a fr' ac relatively'to'the rim. The .outer edg pt the trough or rim 10 have inwardly projeetg mg annular l1ps'12 which. constitute means for holding the several caps ofthe tire-sections in place.

' Each tire-section comprises a resilient or cushion member 13 made of soft rubber and preferably having itscentral portion cut away as at 14; .to form, one-half .of a hollow bore indicated by 15 in Fig. 2, andprojecting under the lips 12 of the rim 10. Cooperative with the'cushion-member 13" is an outer resistance member 16 also made of rubber and cut 'away'as at 16, so

that when the members .13 and-16 are brought together with their flat surfaces, the

'bore' 15 will-be complete, and the two mem' bers together will-act in the same manner":

as a cushion-tire of ordinary construction.

In the present instance I makeuseof these cushion-members only for the purpose; of

'- acting" as means for offering aresilient re-- slstance to pressure exerted against the periphery of'the wheel, without however-sub je'cting the rubber surface to wear. By re-Q ferring to Fig. 2, it' will be seen that the 'upper cushion-member 16 is capped or inclosed in a 'capindicated in "a general way by 17' and having a rim 18 adapted to enter 4 a groove 18 of the member 16, the'lat t-er be-- 'ing also provided with flanges 19, between I which the cap 17 will-fit,-s0 that,.therefore,

any longltudinalshifting movement of the cap relatively to the member 16. will be avoided. The cap '17 has'downwardly proectlng projections 20"each of which is provided with outwardly projecting lips 21 adapted to engage the underside-ofithe lips .12 above described, the entireorganizationbelng such that when the cushion-members .13 and 16 are in position in the rim 10,:"and

the cap 17 is placedas shown in Fig. 2, con- Sldlable resistance is' 'ofi'ered' to the compression of the cushion-members, and at the. same time the lips21 are held in close and frictional contactwith'the lips-12. In orderto assemble these-parts within'the rim 10, one of the lips 12 is cut away .as indicated at 22' in Fig. 1 for a width sufficient to permit the lip 21 to pass therethrough after which the entire tire-section consisting of the cushion members '13 and 16, and the cap 17, may be pushed along within the rim 10 which latter is thus loaded -,'a'nd the several tire-sections are thus locked in position therein.

If desired the cushion-members may be cemente'd so as to form an inclosed air-space as far as the bore 1s concerned. After *all the sections of which the tire is composed,

are assembled within the rim, the opening 22 above described may. be closed in any suitable manner to complete the. rim and prevent any accidental displacement of'the' tire-sections.

Means are provlded whereby dirtyetcl," 1S

prevented-from finding itslway between-the i tire-sections and j the these --means fconsisting preferably of annular'Epads 25, made ofsome elastic material. which may be com- 1 pressed between the cap 17 andthe wheelrim 10.,and maybe held in placeas-for instance by grooves 26 providedin the cap 1 7,

while the edges of the-wheel-rim 10 are also grooved as at 27, so that consequentlysaid inembrs will be retained-Yin position and in closecontact with both the rim and the cap and thus prevent moisture or dirt against entrance at those points. 3

By referring to Figs. 3 and 4:, it will'be' seen that in the preferred "form thereof; 1 shown each'member 16 is provided at one' side thereof with a projection adapted to enter a recess (shown by dotted lines 31) in the next adjacent section, so that in this manner the several soft rubber sections 16 are?" substantially interlocked with each g thenvand if desired, these sections may beassembled so as to make them water and air tight at their point of junction. The caps 17 being preferably made of alower grade of cast metal, I deem it imporf aifecting any changein any one of the tire sections themselves. On the other hand, it will be'understood that if any one of the,

sections in its entirety is to be removed from the wheel rim, such act can be performed without difficulty.

In summarizing the construction of the tire, it will be seen that while the rim of the wheel may be of any well. known construction heretofore employed, my improved sec- 7 tional-tire may be adapted to suit the con.-

struction of the rim with perhaps very small modifications, and, furthermore, that each section as it travels over the ground, will offer a yielding resistance and spring for the wheel as a whole, so that, a wheel fitted out in, the manner above described, possesses practically. all the advantages 'of a pneumat-ic tire, without the disadvantages of a continuous cushion or solid rubber tire.

JMany changes may be. made in the particularform'ation' of the several cushion members and also in the-particular means whereby these sections are held together and in place on the rim, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and-I wish it alsotobe distinctly understood ,that I do not confine myself to the particular construction of the cushion member of the tire which latter may be madein one piece, if preferred, and which also may be made solid instead of havin a hollow bore as above described, the solid construction being pare tlcularly applicable. and advantageous in connection with tires for the heavier kind of vehicles, such as trucks,- etc, 1 I claim p The combination with a wheel rim of 'channel'form, the edges of which terminate in inturned lips, said rim-having annular grooves" formed in its upper faces between the inner edges of said lips'and the outer edges. of the rim, a series of independent caps of U-shape comprising transverse tread portions and inwardly; extending side portions which terminate.- in. out-turned lips l which engage beneath the inturned lips of the rim,,said' caps having upon their outer sides'hook-shaped extensions, annular pads of elastic material bearing between said hook-shaped extensions and the annular grooves of the wheel rim, a series of elastic cushioning members, :each ofjsaid cushioning members having a transverse recess with a convex bottom formed substantially entirely across its outer face, transverse,

curved ribs carried by said cap members and seated in ,said recess, and outwardly extending flanges, 19' integral with the cushioning members, each; ofwhich abuts against the corresponding flange of an adjacent cushioning; said flanges/projecting outwardly between the adjacent-ends of the caps, and

a wear resisting'stripremovably secured on each cap, substantially as, shown and described.

Signed by 'me at Luxemburg' in. presence of two subscribing witnesses. j

' STENS HEINRICH. Witnesses; I

' GEORG LEHMANN,

WILL? STEINFELD; 

